


another name goes up in lights

by anightingale



Category: DC Cinematic Universe, DCU (Comics), Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman (Comics)
Genre: Donna was in the movie, Gen, Goodbyes, Hurt/Comfort, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-27 00:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12069660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anightingale/pseuds/anightingale
Summary: Before Diana leaves for Man's World and the War to End All Wars, her sister, Donna, comes and says goodbye.





	another name goes up in lights

**Author's Note:**

> For context, this is set before Diana says goodbye to Hippolyta and gets on the ship with Steve, but I'm playing with the timeline a little bit.
> 
> Another name goes up in lights  
> You wonder if you'll make it out alive  
> And they'll tell you, now you're the lucky one  
> Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one  
> Can you tell me now you're the lucky one?  
>  _— The Lucky One (Taylor Swift)_

“Do you really have to leave?”

Diana paused in her movements, words flying to her lips to defend her choice, before she recognised who spoke. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled warmly at her sister, who was standing in the entranceway and looking very small.

“Ares is very dangerous, Donna,” she told her, her voice gentle but firm. “The destruction that he will wreak upon Man’s World must not be left up to them to deal with.”

Donna’s eyebrows puckered, and she wandered into Diana’s bedroom, sitting down on the bed. “I know,” she said quietly, sounding resigned.

“I’ll miss you too, little one,” Diana reached over and touched Donna’s cheek lightly, smiling softly and searching her eyes. “But I cannot stand idly by while innocent lives are lost.”

“Artemis wants to go with you,” Donna murmured. “You shouldn’t have to go alone.”

“Artemis wants to go in my place,” Diana corrected, letting go of her and walking back over to finish fastening Athena’s armour. “She hasn’t been in a real war in a very long time.”

“You’ve never been in a war at _all_ ,” Donna said under her breath stubbornly. Diana paused once more, and turned to give her sister her full attention.

“I’ve been training for this my entire life, dearest. You need not be worried for me. I will see you again.”

“Will you?”

Diana nodded easily, crouching before her and looking up into her brown eyes—her own eyes. “By Hera, I promise. We will see each other again.”

Donna bit her lip, and Diana watched as those brown eyes slowly welled with tears. “The Queen says you may never return if you leave.”

Diana glanced away as the pain of this washed over her. She had made her choice, but knowing the repercussions made it feel so real. “You know the law,” she said, as much to herself as to Donna.

“I do. So your promise means nothing.”

Diana shook her head, looking back and placing her hands over Donna’s to try and calm her. “Even if the goddesses do not allow me to come back to Themyscira after defeating Ares, that does not mean I will never see you again, Donna.”

Donna’s eyes narrowed. “What _do_ you mean, then?”

“We are the same, you and I,” Diana reminded her. Donna dutifully rolled her eyes. “If you so choose, maybe one day you will follow me.”

“Follow you?” Donna echoed.

“Into Man’s World,” Diana squeezed Donna’s hands. “Only if you choose to.”

Donna frowned, looking at her suspiciously. “Diana, just how long do you think this war will last?”

Diana leaned back and laughed heartily. “Oh, I will miss you, little one.” She reached up and ruffled Donna’s hair, while Donna squirmed and protested. “It’s only something to think about, for one day. When you get older.”

Donna looked down as she processed this. “The Queen would never allow it.”

“Mother will be difficult,” Diana agreed, standing and stepping over to the polished glass of her mirror while pulling on her cloak. “But I know that would not stop you,” she said, knowingly.

She watched Donna smile in the reflective surface. “No, it wouldn’t.”

Diana half-smiled in turn as she fastened the belt that would keep her cloak in place. “We are alike in many ways,” she murmured, admiring her reflection before turning around.

Donna’s smile died, and she stood, coming to stand before Diana. Not for the first time did Diana notice how much smaller she was than her. Donna reached only to Diana's chest, her face still rounded with her youth. “I will pray to Athena every night that she watch over you in this war, sister,” Donna said, trying her best to sound formal.

Diana took a deep breath, letting the words wash over her. Knowing the gods would be with her in the outside world was calming. She opened her arms, and Donna paused before running into them. 

Pulling her close, Diana whispered, “I will pray for Artemis to send a great beast that keeps you fed for a month after the hunt.”

“Oh, I wish,” Donna sighed in return. Turning, she buried her head against Diana’s chest, squeezing her eyes shut. “Please be careful, Diana,” she whispered, sounding very young.

“I will,” Diana assured her, and Donna slowly pulled away. Diana felt the loss of warmth immediately.

Donna rubbed at her face, sniffing, and looked her up and down. "The armour suits you," she noted with a small smile.

Looking down, Diana saw that her cloak had moved aside slightly. The bright red of Athena's cuirass winked back at her in the low light.  "Thank you," she murmured. She looked up, and Donna looked back at her with wide eyes. What Diana was about to do seemed so monumental, so different.

"You'd better go before the Queen finds out about you having this," Donna said finally.

Diana nodded, picking up her shield and the Godkiller, and hearing Donna's sharp inhale of breath when she recognised the weapon. Quickly, before she decided to stay, she leaned forward and placed a kiss on her little sister's forehead and walked out of her bedroom for what was likely the last time.

She couldn’t bring herself to look back, not when she still had to get off the island with the man known as Steve Trevor. 

Later, while she stood aboard one of Themyscira's finest ships, leaning against the rigging and watching the lights of her home fade into fog, she could only hope that one day she would not be braving the outside world by herself.

_ We will see each other again, _ she had promised, and she meant it. This would not be forever.


End file.
